Apple cuts Cinema Displays prices

Apple today announced that it has made its award-winning line of widescreen flat panel Cinema Displays more affordable by reducing the price of the 20-inch model to just $799 and the 23-inch HD model to just $1,499.

"Apple's Cinema Displays now start at just $799, making widescreen flat displays affordable to even more people," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Even Apple's groundbreaking 30-inch Cinema HD Display, with its over four million pixels, is now made more affordable with standard support built into some PowerMac G5 and PowerBook configurations."

Apple's flat panel display line, comprising the 20-inch Cinema Display, the 23-inch Cinema HD Display and revolutionary 30-inch Cinema HD Display, is designed to work with DVI-equipped Power Mac G5 desktops, PowerBook G4 notebooks and Windows-based computers, and offers the widescreen design (16:10 ratio) coveted by creative professionals who want access to more screen real estate. The 30-inch Cinema HD Display has a 2560-by-1600 pixel resolution and the 23-inch Cinema HD Display has a 1920-by-1200 pixel resolution, ideal for editing High Definition Television (HDTV) content. The 20-inch Cinema Display flat panel offers a 1680-by-1050 pixel resolution, more than enough space to edit full size images with plenty of room for on-screen palettes.

Two systems now feature built-in support for Apple's 30-inch Cinema HD Display: the new 2.7 GHz Power Mac G5 and the 1.67 GHz 17-inch PowerBook. Users can also add support for the 30-inch Cinema HD Display as a build-to-order option on the new 2.0 GHz and 2.3 GHz Power Mac G5 systems, as well as the 1.67 GHz 15-inch PowerBook.

Apple flat panel displays provide a broad color gamut and maximum color quality using the industry's best wide-viewing angle technology of up to 170 degrees even when viewing images off-axis.

Apple Cinema Displays feature an all aluminum design with a very thin bezel, suspended by an aluminum stand with an adjustable hinge that makes tilting the display almost effortless. Each Cinema Display features two FireWire 400 ports and two USB 2.0 ports, and support the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) mounting interface standard.

Pricing & Availability

The 20-inch Cinema Display, 23-inch Cinema HD Display and the 30-inch Cinema HD Display are available through the Apple Store and at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $799 (US), $1,499 (US) and $2,999 (US), respectively. Power Mac G5 build-to-order options for the Cinema Display line include the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL with 256MB DDR SDRAM for an additional $350 (US) as well as a standalone kit for a suggested retail price of $599 (US) through the Apple Store.

Wow, there getting really competitive! These prices are pretty impressive, a 20" Apple Display for £550 (that's a £150 reduction). When you compare these to other professional displays they are really good value.

i have to say that $800 for a 20" flat panel sure sounds like a good deal to me, but i don't track these sorts of things, so maybe there are better displays out there for better prices. i will say i was blown away by some wintel laptop screens at office depot the other day. i actually had to do a double-take, as they looked as crisp, clear and glassy as crt's.

Originally posted by roki have to say that $800 for a 20" flat panel sure sounds like a good deal to me, but i don't track these sorts of things, so maybe there are better displays out there for better prices. i will say i was blown away by some wintel laptop screens at office depot the other day. i actually had to do a double-take, as they looked as crisp, clear and glassy as crt's.

You do have to be careful when choosing flat panels because some are really bad, colour fault etc. Hopefully Apple's fixed the magenta problem on the 23"

Originally posted by PBAnd releases a 23" iMac with the improved display .

Definitely, Apple now have competitive displays for the mini but they need a smaller display - 17" still. The second I have enough money I'm buying a new 20" display, maybe 23" if my G4 PB will support HD.

Originally posted by MacCrazyDefinitely, Apple now have competitive displays for the mini but they need a smaller display - 17" still. The second I have enough money I'm buying a new 20" display, maybe 23" if my G4 PB will support HD.

my local reseller is offering quite a decent deal on the Mac mini with an Acer 15" display... surprisingly, the VGA connection from the Mac mini to the Acer 15" is not too bad, i think they chose the monitor well...

Originally posted by roki have to say that $800 for a 20" flat panel sure sounds like a good deal to me, but i don't track these sorts of things, so maybe there are better displays out there for better prices. i will say i was blown away by some wintel laptop screens at office depot the other day. i actually had to do a double-take, as they looked as crisp, clear and glassy as crt's.

No, equal displays with better prices. The DELL
UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD Monitor has exact same specs and cost 486.85 (as of today, on dell.com). The one difference between the dell and apple is dell monitor does not have firewire and also it's brightness controls leave a lot to be desired. Other than that, it has same specs. In fact, dell has dropped it's price faster than apple. I bought this monitor for my dual 2.5 Ghz for a little over $600. (that was in december of last year). It's now selling for 486, which is a little under $200 price drop.

Originally posted by wnurseNo, equal displays with better prices. The DELL
UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD Monitor has exact same specs and cost 486.85 (as of today, on dell.com). The one difference between the dell and apple is dell monitor does not have firewire and also it's brightness controls leave a lot to be desired. Other than that, it has same specs. In fact, dell has dropped it's price faster than apple. I bought this monitor for my dual 2.5 Ghz for a little over $600. (that was in december of last year). It's now selling for 486, which is a little under $200 price drop.

is the colour as good, on CRTs you can get a mismatch, I'm just curious.

Originally posted by MacCrazyis the colour as good, on CRTs you can get a mismatch, I'm just curious.

The colors are very good. I seen Apple 20 inch displays in stores and have played around with them but i obviously did not buy one. I'm not a graphic artist but i am sure there will be some who will say the Apple display is a little better. What i would say is that the dell is excellent. If you think the apple display is a little better and that factor is really important to you, i'd say go for the apple. The Dell works for me.

Originally posted by wnurseNo, equal displays with better prices. The DELL
UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD Monitor has exact same specs and cost 486.85 (as of today, on dell.com). The one difference between the dell and apple is dell monitor does not have firewire and also it's brightness controls leave a lot to be desired. Other than that, it has same specs. In fact, dell has dropped it's price faster than apple. I bought this monitor for my dual 2.5 Ghz for a little over $600. (that was in december of last year). It's now selling for 486, which is a little under $200 price drop.

Keep in mind that those are prices achieved only through coupons and instant discounts - the 2005FPW normally goes for $749, and there's no guarantee you'll find those extreme sale prices all the time.

Don't get me wrong - it's still an undeniable factor when buying a display. It's just that the prices are close enough now that you can at least rationalize a 20" Apple display if you value build quality, appearance, and/or Firewire ports.